Lactoferrin and Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Gut microbiota, the immune system, and diet influence the neonatal gut–brain axis

“…NEC is an intestinal disease of preterm infants, which produces intense inflammation (92) and indirect brain injury via the GBA (55,72). The preceding reasons are why we emphasize feeding colostrum right after birth and give freshly expressed mother's milk during the neonatal intensive care unit stay (90,93,94). The use of fresh maternal milk will result in colonization of the gut with healthy commensal bacteria, particularly probiotic bacteria that utilize human milk oligosaccharides for their nutrition (90,93).…”

“…The preceding reasons are why we emphasize feeding colostrum right after birth and give freshly expressed mother's milk during the neonatal intensive care unit stay (90,93,94). The use of fresh maternal milk will result in colonization of the gut with healthy commensal bacteria, particularly probiotic bacteria that utilize human milk oligosaccharides for their nutrition (90,93). For this reason, fresh human milk enables development of a healthy ENS and GBA (5).…”

“…Compared with pasteurization of human milk, freezing maintains more immune properties in human milk than does heat treatment (88,89). In other words, fresh colostrum and milk contains lactoferrin, lysozyme, other antimicrobial proteins and immunomodulatory agents that prevent NEC (89,90). A human milk oligosaccharide , disialyllacto-Ntetraose, prevents NEC in a neonatal rat model (91).…”

Necrotizing enterocolitis: current perspectives

“…113 Animal experiments have shown that lactoferrin when given along with the commensal bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) reduced translocation of bacteria across the intestine. 113 Manzoni et al 114 have conducted the only reported randomized controlled trial investigating the efficacy of lactoferrin alone and lactoferrin + LGG in very low birth weight infants in preventing late-onset sepsis and NEC. The incidence of stage 2 and stage 3 NEC was significantly reduced in infants who received lactoferrin + LGG (0/151 infants, P=0.002) compared with infants who received lactoferrin alone (3/153 infants) or the control group (10/168 infants).…”

New insights into environmental enteric dysfunction

“…Trials using specific amino acids such as arginine and glutamine,34 proteins such as lactoferrin and lysozyme,35 and legumes as supplementary foods for children during their period of weaning36 all have potential for demonstrating improvements in EED and stunting. Foods, either genetically modified or natural, that are high in growth factors that reduce apoptosis, enhance enterocyte proliferation and stimulate villous growth are prime targets for investigation.…”